After four seasons in charge, the Arizona Cardinals have just fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury, and most of us saw it coming. It would appear that there has been a large disconnect between Kliff and owner Michael Bidwill, despite the owner handing the coach a contract extension last season. The Cardinals, however, finished this season 4 -13, and they have looked pretty terrible since the very beginning. At the start of the season betting sites like Novibet had the Cardinals at +2500, so it’s fair to say that few expected a good season. With this being said, most expected better, so what exactly went wrong with the Birdgang? Let’s take a look.
Offensive Frailties
Many thought that the Cardinal’s offense would struggle this season but the stats make for worse reading than most anticipated. This AZ offense is currently 18th in passing, 22nd in rushing, 21st in scoring, and unsurprisingly 22nd in total offense for the current season. Those kinds of stats are exactly what will get a coach fired.
Injuries and Discipline
The issues in Arizona weren’t all down to the coach, of course, there were some problems very much out of his control. To begin with, there was the 6 game suspension of DeAndre Hopkins, the franchise’s star wide receiver. Following that, the Cardinals lost QB Kyler Murray for the season after a devastating knee injury. As if this wasn’t enough, the head coach and Murray, prior to the injury, showed clear signs of tension despite so many thinking that this would be a positive relationship between the two. This was mainly down to the clause in Murray’s contract, that allowed him to have independent study time, something that Kingsbury took umbrage to.
Defensive Unit
The real issue for the Cardinals was the offense, shackled by poor form and a swathe of injuries. It is worth stating that the defense is becoming quite a unit. The stats don’t look great, giving up some 391 points this season. With this being said however, many around the franchise have stated that they have high hopes for the defense next season, largely because of the number of players whom they have yet to return.
Moving Forward
Whilst the announcement to fire Kingsbury wasn’t welcomed by all fans, it was at least a step in the right direction and shows that the owners are ready to take drastic action in order to improve. He wasn’t the only one who left the franchise this week, the statement from the Cardinals said:
“We have announced that head coach Kliff Kingsbury has been relieved of his duties, in addition, general manager Steve Keim has decided to step away from his position in order to focus on his health. The team wishes them well and thanks both of them for their contributions.”
And so, another NFL coach hits the chopping block in 24 hours, and for most Cardinal fans, it is something that has not come as a shock, let’s see what next season brings.
